The subject matter herein relates generally to an electrical connector that has at least one electrical contact with a plurality of contact beams that engage corresponding contacts of another connector during a mating operation.
Electrical connectors provide communicative interfaces between electrical components where power and/or signals may be transmitted therethrough. Electrical connectors may be used within telecommunication equipment, servers, and data storage or transport devices. For example, in some communication systems, an electrical connector is mounted along a leading edge of a circuit board to form a circuit board assembly. The electrical connector typically includes a plurality of electrical contacts that are capable of transmitting electrical power or data signals from and/or to the circuit board. The electrical connector includes a mating side that faces away from the leading edge and has the electrical contacts arranged therealong. During a mating operation, the electrical contacts engage corresponding contacts of another connector (hereinafter referred to as the mating connector). The mating side may be advanced in an insertion direction toward the mating connector. As the electrical connector and the mating connector begin to mate with each other, the contacts of the electrical connector directly engage the corresponding contacts.
The engagement between two individual contacts typically involves friction and deflection forces that impede movement of the electrical connector in the mating direction. Although the friction and deflection forces that must be overcome when a single contact engages another single contact are typically small, the sum of these forces when many contacts simultaneously engage each other can be quite large and may require application of a substantial mating force to overcome the sum of the friction and deflection forces. Mating operations that require large instantaneous mating forces are generally undesirable because large mating forces result in difficulty in mating the two connectors and increase the likelihood of damaging the contacts of at least one of the connectors.
Typically, electrical connectors are used in environments, such as in offices or homes, where the connectors are not subjected to constant shock, vibration, and/or extreme temperatures. However, in some applications, such as aerospace or military equipment, the electrical connector should be configured to withstand certain conditions and still effectively transmit power and/or data signals. In fact, customers may require that the connectors be able to sustain large amounts of shock even for applications where the environment is typically free from significant vibrations. For example, customers may require that electrical connectors used in isolated server rooms be able to sustain large shocks on rare occasions, such as during an earthquake. However, many electrical connectors have limited capabilities for sustaining shock and vibrations.
Accordingly, there is a need for an electrical connector that is capable of transmitting electric current in a range of environments and has a relatively low mating force requirement.